But for to tellen yow of his array,
His hors1 were goode, but he was nat gay.
Of fustian he wered a gipoun2
Al bismotered3 with his habergeoun;4
For he was late y-come from his viage,5
And wente for to doon his pilgrimage.
With him ther was his sone, a yong
SQUYER,
A lovyere, and a lusty bacheler,
With lokkes crulle, as they were leyd in
presse.
Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.
Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,7
And wonderly deliver, and greet of
strengthe.
And he had been somtyme in chivachye,9
In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Picardye, 86
And born him wel, as of so litel space,10
In hope to stonden in his ladyll grace.
Embrouded 12 was he, as it were a mede13
Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and rede. 90
Singinge he was, or floytinge,14 al the day;
He was as fresh as is the month of May.
Short was his goune, with sleves longe and
wyde.
Wel coude he sitte on hors, and faire ryde. He coude songes make and wel endyte, 95 Iuste1 and eek daunce, and wel purtreye16
![[blocks in formation]](https://books.google.com.eg/books/content?id=QsUOAAAAYAAJ&hl=ar&output=html_text&pg=PA2&img=1&zoom=3&q=%22%22&cds=1&sig=ACfU3U0cnKQLeK-uSxXIleJ5fAoxkB7YAw&edge=0&edge=stretch&ci=114,761,424,577)
![[blocks in formation]](https://books.google.com.eg/books/content?id=QsUOAAAAYAAJ&hl=ar&output=html_text&pg=PA2&img=1&zoom=3&q=%22%22&cds=1&sig=ACfU3U0cnKQLeK-uSxXIleJ5fAoxkB7YAw&edge=0&edge=stretch&ci=520,141,409,185)
Hir gretteste ooth was but by seynt Loy,
And she was cleped27 madame Eglentyne.
Ful wel she song the service divyne,
Entuned in hir nose ful semely;
And Frensh she spak ful faire and fetisly,28
After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe, 125
For Frensh of Paris was to hir unknowe.
At mete wel y-taught was she with-alle;
She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle,
Ne wette hir fingres in hir sauce depe.
Wel coude she carie a morsel, and wel
kepe,
130
That no drope ne fille up-on hir brest.
In curteisye was set ful moche hir lest.29
Hir over lippe wyped she so clene,
That in hir coppe was no ferthing sene
Of grece, whan she dronken hadde hir
draughte.
Ful semely after hir mete she raughte,30
And sikerly31 she was of greet disport,3
And full plesaunt, and amiable of port,33
And peyned hir34 to countrefete chere3
Of court, and been estatlich36 of manere,140
And to ben holden digne37 of reverence.
But, for to speken of hir conscience,3
She was so charitable and so pitous,
She wolde wepe, if that she sawe a mous
Caught in a trappe, if it were deed or
bledde.
Of smale houndes had she, that she fedde With rosted flesh, or milk and wastel breed.39
But sore weep she if oon of hem were deed,
Or if men smoot it with a yerde smerte:
And al was conscience and tendre herte.150
Ful semely hir wimpel pinched1o was;
Hir nose tretys;41 hir eyen greye as glas;
Hir mouth ful smal, and ther-to softe and
reed;
But sikerly she hadde a fair forheed;
It was almost a spanne brood, I trowe; 155
And eek his face, as he had been anoint.
He was a lord ful fat and in good point;'
His eyen stepe,16 and rollinge in his heed,
That stemed17 as a forneys of a leed;18
His botes souple, his hors in greet estat.
Now certeinly he was a fair prelat;
He was nat pale as a for-pyned19 goost. 205
A fat swan loved he best of any roost.
His palfrey was as broun as is a berye.
A FRERE there was, a wantown and a
A limitour,20 a ful solempne21 man.
In alle the ordres foure is noon that can22
So moche of daliaunce and fair langage.211
He hadde maad ful many a mariage
Of yonge wommen, at his owne cost.
Un-to his ordre he was a noble post.
Ful wel biloved and famulier was he
With frankeleyns2 over-al in his contree,
And eek with worthy wommen of the
For he had power of confessioun,
As seyde him-self, more than a curat,
For of his ordre he was licentiat.2
Ful swetely herde he confessioun,
And plesaunt was his absolucioun;
He was an esy man to yeve25 penaunce
Ther-as he wiste to han a good pitaunce;
For unto a povre order for to yive
Is signe that a man is wel y-shrive.
For if he yaf, he dorste make avaunt,"
He wiste that a man was repentaunt.
For many a man so hard is of his herte,
He may nat wepe al-thogh him sore
Therfore, in stede of weping and preyeres,
Men moot yeve silver to the povre freres.
His tipet was ay farsed27 full of knyves
And pinnes, for to yeven faire wyves.
And certeinly he hadde a mery note;
Wel coude he synge and pleyen on a rote.28
Of yeddinges29 he bar utterly the prys.
His nekke whyt was as the flour-de-lys;
Ther-to he strong was as a champioun.
He knew the tavernes well in every
• same. 11 hard rider. 14 gray fur.
And everich hostiler and tappestere1
Bet2 than a lazar3 or a beggestere;4
For unto swich a worthy man as he
Acorded nat, as by his facultee,5
To have with seke lazars aqueyntaunce.245
It is nat honest, it may nat avaunce
For to delen with no swich poraille,7
But al with riche and sellers of vitaille.
And over-al, ther as profit sholde aryse,
Curteys he was, and lowly of servyse.
Ther nas no man nowher so vertuous.
He was the beste beggere in his hous;
For thogh a widwe hadde noght a sho,
So plesaunt was his In principio,
Yet wolde he have a ferthing, er he wente.
His purchas10 was wel bettre than his
And rage he coude as it were right a whelpe.
In love-dayes ther coude he mochel helpe.
For ther he was nat lyk a cloisterer,
With a thredbar cope, as is a povre scoler,
But he was lyk a maister or a pope.
Of double worsted was his semi-cope,
That rounded as a belle out of the presse.
Somwhat he lipsed, for his wantownesse,
To make his English swete up-on his
tonge;
265
And in his harping, whan that he had
songe,
His eyen twinkled in his heed aright,
As doon the sterres in the frosty night.
This worthy limitour was cleped Huberd.
A MARCHANT was ther with a forked
berd,
In mottelee, and hye on horse he sat,
Up-on his heed a Flaundrish bever hat;
His botes clasped faire and fetisly.
His resons he spak ful solempnely,
Souninge12 alway thencrees of his winning.
He wolde the see were kept13 for any
thing
For sothe he was a worthy man with-alle,
But sooth to seyn, I noot18 how men him
calle.
A CLERK ther was of Oxenford also, 285
That un-to logik hadde longe y-go.
As lene was his hors as is a rake,
And he nas nat right fat, I undertake;
But loked holwe, and ther-to soberly.
Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy;19290
For he had geten him yet no benefyce,
Ne was so worldly for to have offyce.
For him was lever have at his beddes heed
Twenty bokes, clad in blak or reed,
Of Aristotle and his philosophye,
Than robes riche, or fithele,20 or gay sau-
trye.21
But al be that he was a philosophre,
Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;
But al that he mighte of his freendes
hente, 22
On bokes and on lerninge he it spente, 300
And bisily gan for the soules preye
Of hem that yaf him wher-with to scoleye.
Of studie took he most cure and most
hede.
Noght o word spak he more than was nede,
And that was seyd in forme and rever-
ence, 23
And short and quik, and ful of hy sen-
tence.24
Souninge25 in moral vertu was his speche,
And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly
teche.
A SERGEANT OF THE LAWE, war26 and wys,
That often hadde been at the parvys,2
270
Ther was also, ful riche of excellence.
Discreet he was, and of greet reverence:
He semed swich, his wordes weren so wyse.
Iustyce he was ful often in assyse,
By patente, and by pleyn commissioun;315
For28 his science, and for his heigh renoun,
Of fees and robes hadde he many oon.
So greet a purchasour29 was nowher noon,
Al was fee simple to him in effect,
His purchasing mighte nat been infect. 320
Nowher so bisy a man as he ther nas,
And yet he semed bisier than he was.
In termes hadde he caas30 and domes31 alle,
That from the tyme of king William were
falle.
Bitwixe Middlelburgh and Orewelle.
Wel coude he in eschaunge sheeldes11 selle.
This worthy man ful wel his wit bisette;15
Ther wiste no wight that he was in dette,
So estatly was he of his governaunce,16 281
With his bargaynes, and with his chev-
isaunce.17
4 beggar woman.
poor people.
A FRANKELEYN was in his companye; Whyt was his berd, as is the dayesye. Of his complexioun he was sangwyn.* Wel loved he by the morwe a sop in wyn.
To liven in delyt was ever his wone,7
For he was Epicurus owne sone,
That heeld opinioun that pleyn delyt
Was verraily felicitee parfyt.
An housholdere, and that a greet, was he;
Seynt Iulian he was in his contree.
His breed, his ale, was alwey after oon;9
A bettre envyned1o man was no-wher noon.
With-oute bake mete was never his hous,
Of fish and flesh, and that so plentevous,
It snewed in his hous of mete and drinke,
Of alle deyntees that men coude thinke.346
After the sondry sesons of the yeer,
So chaunged he his mete and his soper.
Ful many a fat partrich hadde he in
Wo was his cook, but-if his sauce were
Poynaunt and sharp, and redy al his gere.
His table dormant 15 in his halle alway
Stood redy covered al the longe day.
At sessiouns ther was he lord and sire.
Ful ofte tyme he was knight of the shire.
An anlas16 and a gipser17 al of silk
Heng at his girdel, whyt as morne milk.
A shirreve hadde he been, and a countour;"
Was no-wher such a worthy vavasour.19 360
An HABERDASSHER and a CARPENTER,
A WEBBE,20 a DYERE, and a TAPICER,
Were with us eek, clothed in o22 liveree,
Of a solempne and greet fraternitee.
Ful fresh and newe hir gere apyked23 was;
Hir knyves were y-chaped24 noght with
bras,
1 find fault with. ruddy.
But al with silver, wroght ful clene and weel,
Hir girdles and hir pouches every-deel. Wel semed ech of hem a fair burgeys, To sitten in a yeldhalle25 on a deys. Everich, for the wisdom that he can, Was shaply for to been an alderman. For catel26 hadde they y-nogh and rente, And eek hir wyves wolde it wel assente; .And elles certein were they to blame. It is ful fair to been y-clept "ma dame”, And goon to vigilyës al bifore,
And have a mantel royalliche y-bore.
Wel coude he knowe a draughte of London ale.
He coude roste, and sethe,30 and broille, and frye,
Maken mortreux,31 and wel bake a pye. But greet harm was it, as it thoughte me, 385 That on his shine a mormal32 hadde he; For blankmanger,33 that made he with the beste.
A SHIPMAN was ther, woning fer by weste:
For aught I woot, he was of Dertemouthe. I
He rood up-on a rouncy,34 as he couthe,35
In a gowne of falding36 to the knee.
A daggere hanging on a laas37 hadde he
Aboute his nekke under his arm adoun.
The hote somer had maad his hewe al
broun;
A good WYF was ther of bisyde BATHE, But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe.14
446 Of clooth-making she hadde swiche an haunt,15
She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.
In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon
He knew wel alle the havenes, as they That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon;
And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she,
1 harbor. 2 position of the moon. watched for his patient's favorable star. On the five following lines consult the notes. root, origin. 7 remedy. 8 remedies. • temperate. 10 red cloth.
12 thin silk. 13 expenditure.
15 skill. 16 head-dresses. 19 at present. 20 with teeth far apart. 21 her head well covered with a wimple. 22 cloth to protect the skirt. 24 parish priest.
|